Introduction to Ancient Greek (Greek 51)
Fall 2006, TTh 110-230 (AB 306) and M 1240-150 (AB 343)
Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Associate Professor of Classics
327 Anderson Hall, 1-3672, robin@temple.edu. Office hours: TTh 9-10, F 1130-1230
Course web site: http://www.temple.edu/classics/greek51.html
Subject web site: http://www.temple.edu/classics/greek.htmlTexts:
Thrasymachus by Peckett and Munday. (Bristol Classical Press/Duckworth)
Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary, by Morwood (Oxford UP)Overview: This course introduces you to the language of the ancient Greeks. Because our textbook stresses learning Greek by reading about its original speakers, you will also learn about Greek culture and literature; an extra benefit of our text is that it contains much Greek myth. By the end of the year, you will be actual excerpts from Homer and, time permitting, other authors and texts, including the Bible!! That is, you will if you survive! This course will be hard, but it will also be extremely rewarding, and, believe it or not, fun. No matter how clever you are, learning Greek will take a fair amount of time. You should not take this course unless you are willing and able to spend some time on Greek almost every day, for this time will be the single most important factor in your level of success. I will give you as much help as you want or need.
Approach: We stress learning Greek through reading progressively harder passages of the original language, a practice accompanied by memorizing important vocabulary and forms. It is very important that you not wander off or fall behind. Thus you will have a vocabulary quiz every Monday on the previous week's new words (check the lists of logoi starting on page 162) and a grammar and reading test twice during the semester, and a final. If you are going to miss a class, you must call or email me, and I will return your message as soon as I can with your assignment. There will be brief homework assignments for almost every class meeting. I also assign weekly vocabulary quizzes because memorizing a word's meaning then allows you to concentrate on its form when you are reading. Understanding a word rests on a combination of absolute meaning and contextual form. Learn the meaning and half the battle is won! Make yourself flash cards. An extra bonus here is that understanding Greek roots will increase your English vocabulary tremendously. Daily work is crucial; for any course you should spend two hours studying for every hour in class, so for this course you should devote eight hours each week if you would like to receive a high grade and actually learn to read Greek.
Thrasymachus is largely based on Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead, a parody of Greek myth, supplemented with other amusing treatments of myth. It is often laugh-out-loud funny. In the spring we shift first to Heracles and then to an extended retelling of the Odyssey, with some substantial passages from the real Homer. The approach in Thrasymachus is inductive, meaning you see forms and idioms in the reading before we explain them abstractly; this is a more natural approach to language acquisition. You will also see much more "real Greek" this way; you already read some Aristophanes in Chapter 1! If you have taken Latin at Temple, think of this as Orberg meets Monty Python.
We shall start each chapter by reading an extended passage of Greek out loud, usually more than once. Then we'll try to make sense of it, identifying new forms and syntax along the way. Then I shall give you a handout with a clear account of the new material, and we shall then turn to the exercises in the back of the text, to work further on our new forms and structures. We close each week by rereading the text for that chapter.
http://www.vroma.org/~abarker/thrascontents.html is the basis for the handouts you will receive each week. It also contains an answer key for the exercises on those sheets. You might want to review the excellent coverage of the first chapter if you need clarification on basic issues. Please make sure you have a good folder to keep the materials organized.
SOS? If you at any point feel overwhelmed, dumber than everyone else in the class, or just plain confused, please talk to me. Don’t sneak away and then try to avoid running into me on campus. I am very willing to offer advice or extra help. Consider setting up study groups with your classmates. There will be students around the module who have completed this course already; they can help you..
Grades: Weekly quizzes: %25, Tests: %30, Final %20, Daily work: %25
Note that I will weigh the second half of the course more heavily than the first if you show real improvement as the semester progresses.
Starting out:
By Thursday , learn the Greek alphabet for a quiz (see pages ix-xi in the Pocket Oxford); be able to write out the alphabet in order. I STRONGLY urge to you consult a new interactive web site http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/greek/interactive.htm for learning the Greek alphabet. For now, learn the lower case letters, since these are the ones you will see the most. Study also the materias on diphthongs, double consonants and breathing. The single biggest obstacle most students face as they begin is the alphabet, so if you get used to it quickly, the rest will be much easier.Rough Schedule: Subject to modifications. Our goal is to complete about 13 chapters this semester.
The links in the schedule are to online exercises from Victoria (see below) for another textbook. Use these exercises to practice forms. If confused, please consult the instructions.
Week
Chapters
Topics and Readings
Aug 28-31
IA
Verbs and nouns (1st and 2nd declensions): inflection. Into Hades Practice eimi | luô | match articles to nouns
Sept 5-7
IB
Charon, Practice masculine and neuter forms | feminine forms | singular to plural | adjectives of the kalos type
Sept 11-14
IIA
3rd declension nouns; numerals; prepositions. Cerberus. In the House of Hades. Accents (handouts)
Sept 18-21
IIB
Practice tis |to onoma | personal pronouns Accent review (begin III on Thursday)
Sept 25-28 III Test Monday through Ch. II Contracted verbs and adjectives. Hector Practice phileô | timaô | dêloô | Plural to singular contracts | ho pais |ho anêr |hê mêtêr | hê thugatêr | ho patêr Oct 2-5
IV
Middle verbs. 3rd declension adjectives. Comparison. The beginning of evil. Practice middle forms | phileô | timaô | dêloô | sôphrôn | comparative adjectives | comparative adverbs | irregular comparatives | beltiôn
Oct 9-12
V
Pronouns. Paris and the goddesses. Practice autos | demonstratives: ekeinos and hode and houtos | Possessive 1st person adjectives | Possessive 2nd person adjectives | First person reflexives | second person reflexives | third person reflexives
Oct 16-19
VI
Relative pronouns, Substantive adjectives. Agamemnon and the tragedy Practice relative pronoun forms | hostis | ho despotês
Oct 23-26
VII
Present middle participle. Numbers. Achilles. Practice participles of phileô | luô | ho basileus | to teichos | ho bous
Oct 30-Nov 2
VIII
Present infinitives and active participles. Jason. Practice participle of eimi | phileô | luô | timaô | hê polis | rhadios
Nov 6-9
IX
Test Monday through Ch. VIII Impersonal verbs.
Nov 13-16
X
Review!!!!!! Jason (Yes, kids, an entire chapter with nothing new. Just reading!) Practice hê naus
Nov 20-21
XI
Future and weak aorist active and middle. The Danaids. Future of eimi | luô | future middle of luô | aorist augment drill |
Nov 27-30
XII
Weak aorist active and middle: imperative and participle. Sisyphus Practice past of eimi | aorist active | of luo | aorist middle of luô | aorist active participle of luô | stem change drill #1 and #2 Dec 4-5
XII
Dec 12
Final exam in 306, 11-1. Review sessions can be scheduled
Important Dates:
Last day to drop a course: Monday, September 11
Last day to withdraw: Monday, October 30Web links: There are three helpfully interactive web sites devoted to another texbook, Athenaze:
Athenaze Exercises from the University of Victoria!.
Ancient Greek with Thrasymachus: a very clear guide to ancient Greek
http://www.temple.edu/classics/greek.html has these, and other resources linked.Disability disclosure statement: Any student who has a need for accomodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. Contact Disability Resources at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex to coordinate reasonable accomoations for students with documented disabilities.
Statement on Academic Freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02) which can be accessed through the following link: http://policies.temple.edu/getdoc.asp?policy_no=03.70.02.